Month: August 2010

DC Comics has released official details for the upcoming WaterTower Music release The Music of DC Comics: 75th Anniversary Collection, a compilation release highlighting selected music tracks from DC Comics-theme programming past and present. The soundtrack title is slated to be available to own as both a CD release or digital download through Amazon, and also as a download through iTunes and other digital music outlets, tentatively September 28th, 2010. Cover art and track details for the upcoming soundtrack score release are available below. Click on the thumbnail below for a closer look at the cover art.

The Music of DC Comics: 75th Anniversary Collection is currently set for a September 28th, 2010 release as both a CD release or digital download through Amazon, and also as a digital download through iTunes and other digital music outlets. Stay tuned for further details on that title here soon at The World’s Finest.

DC Comics is slated to release The All-New Batman: The Brave and The Bold #1, the revamped comic title based on the popular Batman: The Brave and The Bold animated series, in November 2010. The World’s Finest caught up Rick Burchett, artist for the upcoming series, for a quick comment.

Burchett says that getting on to a title such as this was a surprise for him, even with his vast background in the lauded “animated” titles for DC Comics.

“I never really thought I’d be offered an animated book again, but in this crazy business, you never know.” says Burchett. ” It’s good to have a regular monthly to work on and it’s really great to be working with editor Scott Peterson again.”

Peterson was the editor on the critically acclaimed The Batman Adventures title, launched nearly twenty years ago. The All-New Batman: The Brave and The Bold will feature appearances by Superman, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman and The Flash in the early issues of title. Official details on the first issue are available below.

THE ALL-NEW BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #1

Written by: Sholly FischArt by: Rick Burchett Cover by: Rick Burchett

Theres precious little crime in the tiny paradise that is the miniaturized Bottle City of Kandor. So, when Kandor is threatened by a plague of thefts that hint at a larger threat waiting in the wings, Superman and Batman shrink down to super-small size to unravel the super-big mystery! Dont miss the return of the comic based on the hit cartoon series! On sale November 10th, 2010. Cover price is $2.99 US.

Click here for further details on the Batman: The Brave and The Bold comic series.

In further Batman: The Brave and The Bold news, The World’s Finest can confirm new episodes for the acclaimed animated series are slated to begin next month. An all-new episode of Batman: The Brave And The Bold is scheduled to air Friday, September 17th, 2010, tentatively “The Siege of Starro, Part One.”

Stay tuned for continued Batman: The Brave and The Bold updates here soon at The World’s Finest, including details on upcoming episodes of the acclaimed animated series and a detailed interview with The All-New Batman: The Brave and The Bold artist Rick Burchett.

Below is the official trailer for the upcoming Superman/Batman: Apocalypse direct-to-video animated feature from the DC Universe Animated Original Movie line. A co-production of Warner Premiere, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation, the direct-to-video Superman/Batman: Apocalypse animated feature debuts September 28th, 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray disc from Warner Home Video. Please click on the image below to view the trailer, available in the Quicktime format.

Click the above image to view the trailer!

Click here to view the official press release and Blu-ray artwork for the upcoming Superman/Batman: Apocalypse direct-to-video animated feature.

A co-production of Warner Premiere, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation, the direct-to-video Superman/Batman: Apocalypse animated feature debuts September 28th, 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray disc from Warner Home Video. Stay tuned for further updates here soon at The Worlds Finest.

The World’s Finest presents the latest in a series of studio-conducted interviews, provided by Warner Home Video, for the Superman/Batman: Apocalypse direct-to-video animated feature. Continue reading below for the latest installment featuring actor Ed Asner.

Seven-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner (Up) reprises his Superman: The Animated Series/Justice League role as Granny Goodness in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, the ninth entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies coming September 28, 2010 from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Home Video.

Granny Goodness is the primary henchwoman for the evil lord Darkseid, ruler of the distant planet Apokolips and a cruel, ominous being even more powerful than Superman. Asner first voiced the role for four episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, and returned to those evil female roots for two episodes of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

Asners storied career boasts seven Emmy Awards three supporting actor honors for his role as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, two more as the title character in Lou Grant, and a pair of awards recognizing individual supporting performances in the landmark miniseries Roots and Rich Man, Poor Man. He has won more acting Emmys than any other performer, and is the only actor to ever win Emmy Awards for playing the same character in both a comedy and a drama.

The five-time Golden Globe winner also served as President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981-1985.

Live-action accolades aside, Asner has been ever-present in animation for nearly 25 years, running the gamut from guest spots on shows like Animaniacs, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Johnny Bravo, King of the Hill, The Boondocks and Hercules (to name but a few) to regular roles in Gargoyles, Freakazoid, Batman: The Animated Series, Spider-Man and Captain Planet and the Planeteers. He also voiced the role of Santa Claus in the animated television special Olive the Other Reindeer (hes played Santa Claus for four different film/TV productions).

Asners stirring, funny, wonderful portrayal of Carl Fredrickson in Disney/Pixars Up had critics wondering why the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences had yet to add a voice acting category to the Academy Awards slate.

Asner joins a Superman/Batman: Apocalypse cast led by fan favorites Tim Daly (Private Practice) and Kevin Conroy (China Beach) reprising their seminal roles as Superman and Batman, respectively. Also featured among the celebrity-laden guest cast is Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age) as the daunting Darkseid, and sci-fi heroine Summer Glau (Serenity/Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles).

Based on the DC Comics series/graphic novel Superman/Batman: Supergirl by Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner & Peter Steigerwald, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse is produced by animation legend Bruce Timm and directed by Lauren Montgomery (Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths) from a script by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Tab Murphy (Gorillas in the Mist).

Asner, who turns 81 this November, had a few short minutes to answer questions following his latest recording session as Granny Goodness. Take note or Granny will know.

QUESTION: How does Granny Goodness compare to playing other female characters?

ED ASNER: I dont think I have played any other female characters before (he laughs). But if I did, shed have more balls than any of them. Its become the fashion lately theres Brian Bedford in Stratford doing Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wildes play. What hasnt been done enough is women playing men in as butch a manner as possible. Thats got to be even more fun. Im talking somebody like Marjorie Main pulling it off.

QUESTION: What do you use as a focal point while voicing Granny?

ED ASNER: Im thinking shes a lot of chest, a lot of high pressure steam, and that shes probably got a constant focus on vengeance and wreaking havoc on whoever she can. And I want to get away with as much damage as I can in as high-flown an effeminate form as possible.

QUESTION: Youve done it all and had long-lasting success in the entertainment industry. Whats the enticement of voice acting for you?

ED ASNER: Its always a trip a joyful trip to come into the studio, and especially working with this group. Andrea (Romano) is a delight to work with, and Bruce (Timm) knows this genre better than anybody. Plus, its the ability to let your imagination take flight to take chances, to plunge and to soar. Thats something you dont get to do as an actor. You get to do it as a kid. So I grab the opportunity as often as I can.

QUESTION: With all the animation work youve done, and the huge success of Up, can we assume you see animated films and television as a viable source of entertainment.

ED ASNER: Ive always loved cartoons I watched them when I was young, I still watch them now. And it is interesting to see how much more adult theyve gotten in terms of content, from these super hero pieces with their violence and more adult themes to the truly mature, fully-developed stories developed in films like Up and Wall-E. Todays animation goes places cartoons didnt used to go.

QUESTION: How do you feel about spunk?

ED ASNER: That all depends on whos got it.

Caption suggestions:

Ed Asner.jpgSeven-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner reprises his Superman: The Animated Series/Justice League role as Granny Goodness in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, the ninth entry in the popular series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies coming September 28, 2010 from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Home Video. (Photo courtesy of Gary Miereanu)

Granny_02.jpgGranny Goodness, the evil lord Darkseids primary henchwoman, is voiced by seven-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. The DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movie will be distributed by Warner Home Video on September 28, 2010.

Granny_04.jpgGranny Goodness, the evil lord Darkseids primary henchwoman, is voiced by seven-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. The DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movie will be distributed by Warner Home Video on September 28, 2010.

For more information please go to SupermanBatmanApocalypse.com

Click here to view the official press release and Blu-ray artwork for the upcoming Superman/Batman: Apocalypse direct-to-video animated feature.

A co-production of Warner Premiere, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation, the direct-to-video Superman/Batman: Apocalypse animated feature debuts September 28th, 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray disc from Warner Home Video. Stay tuned for further updates here soon at The Worlds Finest.

A new trailer from the upcoming Batman: The Brave and The Bold – The Videogame title have been made available by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The new trailer shows off the title’s gameplay. The new Batman: The Brave and The Bold videogame debuts Fall 2010 on the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. Click on the thumbnail image below to view the new trailer, available in the Quicktime format.

Click here to view the official preview trailer. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment released an official press release for Batman: The Brave and The Bold – The Videogame in February 2010, which is available to view here, along with further details available here.

WB Games presents, in association with DC Comics, a Wayforward game, Batman: The Brave and The Bold – The Videogame, hitting shelves September 7th, 2010. Stay tuned for further updates on this release here soon at The World’s Finest.

In related Batman: The Brave and The Bold news, characters from the popular Scooby-Doo franchise are slated to make an appearance in an upcoming episode of the acclaimed animated series. Stay tuned for further details on the Batman: The Brave and The Bold animated series, including details on new episodes, on this coming Monday here at The World’s Finest.